Climate Action: The Time is Now!

Fighting climate change isn’t just about fighting against coal mines and for a price on carbon. It’s also about the complex world of Public Service Commission decisions. It’s about fighting to protect electricity consumers from monopoly utilities that make more money by spending more money on expensive electricity generation sources such as the Colstrip power plant. Energy markets have changed so much in recent years that protecting consumers and protecting the environment are hand-in-glove issues. This issue of Capitol Monitor focuses on bills trying to change the way the Montana Public Service Commission oversees monopoly utilities such as NorthWestern Energy. These decisions are the ones that will help to determine both the future of the world we live in and affect our pocketbooks. Never have those two things been so in tandem, and we need your help.

Contact the House and Senate Energy Committees to Ask that They Stand Up for Clean Energy

Many clean energy bills are working their way through the Legislature that would significantly impact clean energy development in Montana, in both good and bad ways. You can leave a message for the House Federal Relations, Energy, and Telecommunications Committee by calling (406) 444-3078, the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee by calling (406) 444-1527, and you can reach the governor by calling (406) 444-3111.

Status: Passed the House Energy Committee on
an 11-1 vote. Passed the House on a 79-20 vote. Awaiting
a hearing in the Senate Energy Committee.

Position: Support.

This bill would
require for-profit utilities (i.e., NorthWestern Energy and Montana-Dakota
Utilities) to hold at least two public meetings as part of their long-term
resource planning processes. This is a consumer protection bill. By allowing
more experts to provide perspective and feedback to the utility that it might
not otherwise have access to or consider, it is less likely a utility will make
poor or overpriced investments (the cost of which falls on ratepayers). All
other major utilities in the Northwest hold open planning meetings. Currently,
NorthWestern’s meetings are invite-only and the utility controls the
invitation. HB 78 takes us in the
right direction for transparency, consumer protection, and brings us closer to
achieving the industry standard to have open planning meetings.

Status: Heard in the House Energy Committee on February 4th. Passed that committee 12-0. Awaiting a House floor vote.

Position: Support.

HB 314
would allow, but not require, the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) to
initiate a “rate case” every three years. Rate cases are important because they
help to ensure that customers are not gouged by utility companies. This bill is
necessary because there is uncertainty about whether the PSC has the authority
to initiate rate cases. The bill would clarify the PSC’s authority.
NorthWestern Energy is currently going through a rate case process. However its
previous rate case was 10 years ago – a far longer period of time than is
typical.

Status: Heard in the Senate Energy committee on February 14th. Awaiting a vote in that committee.

Position: Support.

This
bill would protect utility customers by reducing the likelihood of for-profit
utilities (e.g., NorthWestern Energy) making unnecessary investments. It would
make the long-term electricity resource planning process open to all parties –
not just those invited by the utility. SB
188 would require a competitive bidding process for new electricity
resources, such as wind farms and power plants, and it would require a publicly
available draft and public comment on requests for proposals for new resources.
This increased transparency will protect customers from utilities rigging their
requests for new resources to be geared toward more expensive resources such as
gas.

Status: Heard in the House Energy Committee on February 13th. Passed that committee 12-0. Awaiting a House floor vote.

Position: Support.

This
bill would help small but competitive renewable resource developers by
returning contract lengths for independent wind and solar “qualifying
facilities” (QFs) to 25 years, the same length that they were before a harmful
Public Service Commission ruling in 2017. 25 years is a standard contract
length for power plants. NorthWestern itself has asked for and received
guaranteed revenue recovery for its own power plants at lengths of 25, 30, 34,
and 50 years. QFs are the largest driver of new wind and solar projects in
Montana. They create jobs, tax revenue, and clean energy in communities across the
state. Counties such as Stillwater, Big Horn, Musselshell, and Lewis and Clark
all have large-scale solar facilities now, thanks to these projects.

Mark your Calendar and Attend our March 8th Citizen Lobby Day!

Join us for a Citizen Lobby Day on March 8th in Helena – an outstanding educational opportunity to engage with the Montana Legislature and make your voice heard. We will meet at St. Paul’s Methodist Church, 512 Logan Street, at 9:30 AM for an issue briefing and a “Lobbying 101” training session, then head to the Capitol to hear from, and have conversations with legislators about their focal issues. For more information, visit its Events Page.